Union Minister and a renowned Diabetologist Dr Jitendra Singh says, immediate challenge is prevention of Diabetes among the youth and pregnant women

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a renowned Diabetologist, said today that the immediate challenge is prevention of Diabetes among the youth and pregnant women.

Speaking at a Webinar on Diabetes on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, Dr Jitendra Singh said, more than 70 percent of India’s population is below 40 years of age. The Minister called for mandatory diabetes test in all maternity hospitals and for every pregnant women.. The seminar was jointly organized by Swami Vivekananda Yoga AnusandhanaSamasthana, S-VYASA, Bengaluru and Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, CCRYN New Delhi.

Calling for an integrated and holistic approach to fight Diabetes, Dr Jitendra Singh said, COVID has prompted us to discover new norms in adversity and underlined the importance of combining traditional Indian management modalities with the Allopathic System. He pointed out that ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister of India, he has brought to the centre stage the virtues of indigenous system of medical management. He said, it was Modi, who brought a unanimous resolution in the United Nations to observe International Day of Yoga, as a result of which Yoga has reached virtually every household across the world. He also added that it was Prime Minister Modi again, who created a separate Ministry of AYUSH, considering the importance of indigenous medical management system, besides promoting Holistic Medicine.

Sharing the concerns of Dr H.R.Nagendra, Chancellor of S-VYASA that Diabetes is making fast inroads in Rural India with huge economic bearing on poor families, Dr Jitendra Singh said, there is a need to popularise Telemedicine to provide easy and affordable access to the ailing population.

Referring to Prime Minister’s pet project of National Digital Health Mission, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it can revolutionise healthcare in India as citizens will be issued a health card that will have all their medical information. He said, the details of medical tests, illnesses, doctors’ prescriptions and medical reports will be on a single identity card and will be the first of its kind in the world. The Minister said that various health care schemes launched by Modi Government such as PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, Ayushman Bharat Jan ArogyaYojana, Ayushman Health and Wellness Centres, Pradhan MantriBhartiyaJanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP) and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission have made healthcare facilities accessible and affordable to millions of poor people in the country.

In his concluding remarks, Dr Jitendra Singh underlined thatDiabetes is a growing epidemic globally and more so in India. He said, 88 million adult populations in India has diabetes in 2019 as per the latest International Diabetes Federation(IDF) estimates and this is projected to rise by almost 74% to 153 million by 2045, giving India the dubious distinction of becoming the diabetes capital of the world.